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"Shut your mouth! I don't need your reminders on what to do, and I certainly don't need you barking orders at me!!!" Obito, utterly consumed by fury and frustration, roared wildly at Black Zetsu. Who the hell did Black Zetsu think he was? Nothing more than the manifested will of Madara. What gave him the right to dictate terms to Obito? Since when did Uchiha Obito need to follow the commands of something like that?
When Obito plunged into one of his berserk rages, he recognized neither kith nor kin. At moments like this, forget Black Zetsu – even if Madara Uchiha himself were to rise from the grave, he would have no hope of altering Obito's mind. Recognizing this, Black Zetsu wisely shut his mouth. He knew that Obito still couldn't let go of Kakashi. This was all the fault of that damned, troublesome thing called youthful bonds.
"Kisame! Can I trust you?" Obito raised his head and looked directly at Kisame.
"..." Damn it all. Trust his ass. Was Uchiha Obito planning to send him on a suicide mission? Kisame's heart lurched, but his face remained expressionless as he nodded. He understood that he couldn't refuse. If he did, he'd be met with the combined hostility of both Obito and Black Zetsu. Although Kisame had joined the Akatsuki, his position was painfully awkward. He didn't fully belong to Nagato's faction, nor was he entirely part of Obito's camp. Sandwiched between the two, he occupied the most precarious and uncomfortable position imaginable. He found no genuine favor with either side, yet he couldn't refuse either. If he truly obeyed Obito's order to go stir up trouble in the Leaf Village, he might very well end up dead. He needed to find a way to preserve himself.
Kisame wasn't afraid of death, but he had no intention of dying like a complete fool on a hopeless errand. That was precisely why he had chosen to betray his village and join the Akatsuki in the first place. One could argue that within the entire Akatsuki organization, Kisame was the man who valued honor, principle, and loyalty the most.
"Hah..." Exhaling a heavy, turbid breath, Obito forced himself to calm down. In a cold voice, he said, "We've just captured the Cloud Village's elite jonin, Dodai, and we stole a hidden item from Turtle Island. The Cloud Village will definitely be on high alert now and will likely even notify the other villages. Barring any unforeseen delays, this intelligence will soon be sitting on the Hokage's desk in the Leaf Village. That vicious schemer Uchiha Kazuki will certainly be watching me and watching Kakashi. I can't move freely. I need you to infiltrate the Leaf Village in my stead and find an opportunity to capture Kakashi."
"Mm." Knowing full well he had no room to refuse, Kisame could only stiffen his face, nod slowly, and accept the assignment. As for how he would handle it – that was his own business. Kisame's mind wasn't as deeply layered with schemes as others'. His stance was simple: if you treated him with sincerity, he would repay you in kind. But if you intended to use him as a disposable sacrifice, then he was sorry, but he wasn't playing along anymore.
Having joined the Akatsuki yet finding himself unwanted and unappreciated on both sides left Kisame utterly weary. He felt he urgently needed to find a way to save himself. If the situation spiraled out of control, Obito wouldn't spare him, nor would the leader. Obito was one thing, but recalling the terrifying power of the Deva Path, Kisame couldn't suppress a shudder. It was better to keep as much distance as possible from such a monster.
After Kisame departed, Black Zetsu offered his analysis. "Given how well Uchiha Kazuki understands our Akatsuki, he'll be on guard not only against you and me but probably against Kisame as well. This infiltration mission into the Leaf Village will be extremely dangerous for him."
"And?" Obito affixed his mask and ground his teeth. "Since he joined the Akatsuki, he should be prepared to make sacrifices. No matter what, I will reclaim the eye that belongs to me. Nagato is slipping further out of control and constantly suppressing me. If this continues, both you and I may eventually be kicked out of the Akatsuki. That would jeopardize the entire plan."
Fine. Have it your way. Black Zetsu lapsed into silence and said no more. His mind was already working on another problem: how exactly should he report Obito's search for the eye to Nagato, and how much information should he disclose? That was a question well worth pondering. The Akatsuki had mobilized on an operation, yet the leader, Nagato, had been kept entirely in the dark about their activities. How could that possibly be justified? Besides, Nagato was not a man easily deceived.
"When you report to Nagato, don't mention anything about the eye," Obito instructed. "Just tell him I acquired a Sharingan."
Nagato was in the dark. Black Zetsu was his own ally. Kisame had already been dispatched to the Leaf Village. Therefore, Nagato couldn't possibly know the specific details. Obito felt this information ought to be concealed. Doing so would inject a bit of uncertainty and urgency into Nagato's calculations – at the very least, it would prevent Nagato from continuing to suppress him as he had before. Black Zetsu, for his part, had already been planning to do exactly that without being told.
After parting ways with Obito, Black Zetsu slipped away and made his way back to the Akatsuki's main headquarters. He took the initiative to report the process of the mission to Nagato in full.
"In other words, Obito successfully retrieved the Sharingan, while Kisame continues to carry out other assignments?" The Deva Path, Nagato, didn't even open his eyes as he spoke, his back facing Black Zetsu.
"Yes," Black Zetsu answered stiffly and formally. After all, that was precisely the persona he maintained within the organization.
"Hmph!" Konan interjected with clear displeasure. "The Akatsuki is not an organization that Uchiha Obito personally founded. What gives him the right to commandeer other members to execute his own private missions?"
The Deva Path gave no response, but Konan's irritation was palpable. Faced with her pointed question, Black Zetsu chose silence.
The Deva Path remained silent for a moment longer before standing. "Notify everyone. We are relocating. We need to move to an even more concealed base."
Kisame was headed to the Leaf Village on a mission, which brought with it the risk of exposure. The Akatsuki could not afford such a risk. Therefore, Nagato decisively chose to move the base of operations. At this stage, the Akatsuki no longer had the cumbersome baggage of the past. With only a handful of members, relocating could be done easily and swiftly. To prevent the Five Great Ninja Villages from seizing upon their trail and disrupting the plan with unexpected complications, relocation was the optimal solution. Even if Kisame were captured and sold out every scrap of the organization's intelligence, by the time the Five Great Villages dispatched their forces, the Akatsuki would have long since vanished, leaving nothing but an empty shell behind.
Relocating the organization required notifying everyone. None of the other members had any particular reaction to Nagato's command. Relocate? Sure, relocate. It wasn't the first time. They were used to it.
"This is the final time," the Deva Path coldly warned Obito just before the meeting adjourned. The Akatsuki was not your personal organization, nor was it an organization founded by you. Your personal missions – either carry them out yourself, or stop causing trouble. Do not use the organization's members again to run errands for your private objectives, especially when it exposes them to the risk of capture.
"Heh." Though he had received a direct warning from Nagato, Obito didn't take it to heart in the slightest. On the surface, it appeared that Nagato's hostility toward him had intensified. In reality, this was also a silent victory for Obito, because Nagato's suppression over him would no longer be as overwhelming as it had been before. This, precisely, was the primary reason Obito had been so desperate to recover his eye.
As for the warning? To hell with it. When the time was ripe, his first move would be to seize control of that foolish puppet. After cursing inwardly a few times, Obito took his leave without hesitation.
The Akatsuki's decision to immediately relocate was, in effect, tantamount to selling Kisame out in advance.